This invention relates generally to a guide for use during the process of the installation of dental prosthetic implants. More particularly, the invention includes a positioning and depth guide for determining the appearance, relative position and alignment of a dental implant prior to its insertion into a jaw.
The field of prosthodontics restoration, whereby an object substituting for a natural tooth and tooth root is surgically implanted in the jaw, has come into increasingly wide use. In prosthodontics restoration, a dental implant is implanted in the gum tissue and jaw bone of a patient. In the typical dental implant process, a titanium post or fixture is press fitted or screwed into a hole drilled into the jaw bone. The fleshy gum tissue is then sutured to cover the fixture and the fixture remains in the hole until osseointegration takes place to firmly fix the post to the jaw bone. After a sufficient time has past for osseointegration, the gum tissue is opened to expose an upper end of the fixture. A restoration supporting abutment is then secured to the fixture and a restoration such as a tooth is then affixed to the abutment.
It is important that the fixture is structurally anchored to the jaw bone. To provide the proper structural support, the lower end of the fixture should penetrate for a desired depth into the jaw bone, however, the fixture should not damage other structures in the jaw bone and surrounding areas such as nerves and sinuses. As set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,845 and incorporated herein by reference, one method of ascertaining the correct placement of a new fixture in the gums and jaw bone is to drill progressively deeper bores for the fixture, and insert radiographic guides which through the use of x-rays indicate the depth and singulation of the bores.
However the radiographic gages often do not give an accurate representation of the appearance of the abutment. And, although the radiographic gages provide a good gauge of the depth and singulation of the implant bore, the guides provide little guidance in selecting the proper height of the abutment for the contemplated implant.
Therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved device for indicating the positioning of a prosthetic device such as a dental implant.
A further object of the present invention to provide an improved guide for radiographically determining the probable orientation and position of an abutment portion of a dental implant.
A still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved radiographic guide for determining the proper height and angulation of an abutment of an implant.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a guide which may be used with standard x-ray techniques.